The Bill

1 9 8 4 - Current (UK)

The Bill was created from a one-off drama called Woodentop (a CID nickname for officers in uniform) in the 1983 Storyboard season and began life as a one hour weekly series. In its fourth year it reverted to two half hour shows per week, and in 1993 it changed to three half hour episodes per week. A new rule was also introduced: there had to be a police person in every scene. 

Handheld camera work was introduced to provide a touch of on-the-streets realism and it certainly helped with the pace of the program, although characterization and plot development were victims of the truncated format. According to the creator of the show, Geoff McQueen, the format changed to half hour episodes to allow a greater input from dissimilar creative types.

In Australia it was not seen until 1986, and it was not until 1995 that the ABC began to copy the three episode per week schedule of Britain (though two of them are screened together on Saturday nights). In 1988, the famous 'plodding feet' title-sequence was dropped (to the dismay of some fans) and later that year, with ratings falling, The Bill reverted to a one-hour format.

The Bill is set in Sun Hill Police Station, which is located somewhere in the East End of London (although most of the locations are actually shot in South London). There are characters in civilian clothes, members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and the uniformed members. Sometimes the CID are short-staffed and place some of the Uniform Division in plainclothes. We see squads from different shifts, but mostly from "A Relief" 

Criticized by some real policemen for its portrayal of policing methods (but loved by other members of the force), The Bill was also attacked for suggesting - years ahead of the Stephen Lawrence tragedy and subsequent enquiry - that racism was a facet of today's force. Nevertheless, the series continued to show just how policemen cope with the realities of the modern world, showing officers of the law as people with a job to do, however unpleasant that job may be.

Head of the station was Chief Superintendent Charles Brownlow, a man mainly concerned with the image of his force, and beneath him worked an ever-changing squad of inspectors, sergeants, detectives and constables. Most notable were Bob Cryer, the paternal station officer, the hot-headed DCI Galloway (who was never afraid to bend the rules), and his devious successor DCI Burnside (given his own spin-off series Burnside in 2000).

Young PCs "Taffy" Edwards and Jim Carver, the hypochondriac Reg Hollis, ambitious Dave Litton, impetuous Ted Roach, well-groomed Mike Dashwood, scruffy "Tosh" Lines and dependable WPCs Ackland and Martella were also prominent favorites.  

TRIVIA NOTE
The show is called The Bill because "Old Bill" is the English nickname for the police. It is shown in many countries, from Brunei to Zambia, Gibraltar to Norway, and Israel to Saudi Arabia.